In the same way that you cannot run a marathon in one month if you haven’t even started running a 5K, you cannot expect that your fancy but too-ambitious communications plan will succeed overnight.
Do you want to create a communications strategy that works for your business during the entire year?
Let’s find out how with 5 important tips.
1- Be specific with your goals
It is very tempting to jump the gun and start doing things without reflecting on what we want to achieve. Take time to understand which targets you want to set and why and how you are going to reach them. Do you have enough resources in place? Do you/your team have the skills and knowledge required to achieve them? Saying that you want to have a more «active social media presence» doesn’t mean anything. What do you mean by that? How many posts? When? Who is your target audience and what do they want?
We don’t need to reinvent the wheel and analysing what worked and didn’t work last year is a good starting point. From there, what can we do to make it better?
2- Bring people with you
Nobody works in isolation. No matter the type of content that you plan to produce during the year, you will for sure involve other people at some point. It could be your C-Suite executives or representatives from other departments, but you will need input from different experts to deliver a successful communications strategy. In this case, it is a good idea to minimize the «surprises». Let people know in advance that you will need their collaboration, ask if the proposed timing suits them well and most importantly, dedicate time to explain to them why you need them, the value that they will bring and what will be expected. Even if you are a communications expert, remember that it takes two to tango!
3- Consistency is key
Consistency is one of my favourite words. It is quite easy to write a good piece, create an amazing video, or start a podcast, but to be consistent and keep doing it every single week or month is another thing. Consistency is the secret ingredient for any successful recipe, don’t expect results with your first attempt, you need to keep being present. Nowadays we are all bombarded with information, but if you produce something interesting that reaches your niche audience, keep knocking on that door and I am sure that it will open sooner rather than later.
4- Keep track of your progress with data
As important as your goal setting is, measuring progress is essential to understand your performance. Although you can still enjoy the adrenaline rush after pushing the «publish» or «send» button, make sure you don’t ignore what happens after. Which type of content gets more traction? What didn’t work? When is the best day and time to do so? Collecting and analysing all this data will help you polish and enhance your strategy.
5- Be flexible
Plans are great, but we all know that things can happen. Who would have imagined that we had to deal with a global pandemic in 2020? Although having a plan in place will be important to help you navigate the year, anything can happen and you will need to adjust. It could be from a crisis that your company needs to address to a new product launch that was not planned until the following year. Stick to your plan but leave some space for unpredicted events.
Do you need help with your communications strategy or thought leadership content? Get in touch with me: alicia.gallego@auderestrategies.com